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Friday, December 30, 2011

Mind's Eye,translated by Laurie Thompson, is the first in the Inspector Van Veeteren series by Nesser; so now I've read three novels in this series.

When Janek Mitter awakens one morning with a serious hangover, he finds the bathroom door locked from the inside. His wife doesn't answer, so Mitter uses a screwdriver to open the door and finds his wife drowned, face down, in the bathtub.

Although he vehemently denies having murdered his wife, Mitter has no memories after a certain point in the previous evening. Van Veeteren thinks it is likely that Janek Mitter is guilty, but he admits that he isn't completely convinced. Van Veeteren attends Mitter's trial, still vaguely bothered about the crime, and although Mitter is convicted and sentenced to a mental institution, Van Veeteren remains uneasy about the man's guilt.

When someone stays after visiting hours at the mental institution and murders Mitter, Van Veeteren enters the investigation with renewed determination.

Why was Eva Mitter murdered and what prompted the killer to wait so long to murder Janek Mitter, when he could have done so at the same time he killed Eva? The answers lie in the past and Van Veeteren's only clue is a letter Janek Mitter wrote shortly before his death.

In order of their original publication (although not in order of English translations):

Mind's Eye
Borkman's PointThe ReturnWoman with a Birthmark
The Inspector and Silence

I've read the titles in italics and look forward to reading Borkman's Point and The Inspector and Silence which have also been translated.

The Hand that Trembles is translated by Ebba Segerberg and features Swedish Inspector Ann Lindell. I've read one other novel by Eriksson that features Lindell, The Princess of Burundi and didn't have any strong feelings one way or the other about it (I read it in 2006). I liked this one better.

The Hand that Trembles begins in 1956 with the relationship between the boy Sven-Arne Persson and his Uncle Ante who fought the fascists in Spain. The relationship is unusually strong, but not always easy.

As a middle-aged adult, Sven-Arne has become a county commissioner with the reputation of a man to watch for further political achievement. Then one day, he walks out of a meeting and disappears. The case remains unsolved, but no reason for suicide, kidnapping, or just abandoning his wife is uncovered. Twelve years later, the son of a neighbor recognizes Sven-Arne in Bangladore, India.

Back in Sweden, Ann Lindell is disturbed that her mentor in the police department has become old and discouraged after surgery for a brain tumor. She tries to interest him in the Sven-Arne case when the reports of his sighting in India become known. Berglund remembers the case, but isn't terribly interested. He decides to delve into one his own unsolved cases involving the murder of an old man in a wheel chair, a cold case that has continued to haunt him.

In the meantime, Lindell is assigned to an investigation involving the discovery of a severed foot in a lonely rural area where the few inhabitants know each other well, yet remain somewhat isolated from each other. Her investigation meets a lack of response from the inhabitants, who deny knowing of any missing woman in the area. The foot definitely belonged to a small woman, but how did it end up in this small rural community, who was she, and who killed her?

In the midst of the different investigations, Ann Lindell attempts to come to grips with her own life as a single mother, with her sense of abandonment by her mentor who is not recovering emotionally as quickly as she would like, and with some differences in views among her colleagues.

The various strands and investigations are eventually tied together or resolved separately according to the situation. There are a quite a few threads to this novel, many involving the sense of separation and aloneness that the characters are experiencing. Whether or not they are physically isolated, many of the characters are emotionally isolated in some way.

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural/Crime. 2011. 310 pages.

I have one more Scandinavian author to review (Hakan Nesser's Mind's Eye), a mystery set in Iceland by an English author (Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath), a historical English mystery (The Cuckoo's Child by Marjorie Eccles), and an ARC that I'm not sure how to classify (Me Before You by JoJo Moyes). Then I'll be finished with this year's reviews!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Until Thy Wrath Be Past by Asa Larsson; translator: Laurie Thompson, who has translated Henning Mankell, Hakan Nesser, and Ake Edwardson. Another Rebecka Martinsson mystery, Until Thy Wrath Be Past begins with seventeen-year-old Wilma describing the day she and Simon died.

Wilma's voice is so charming that I couldn't help but form an attachment to her character immediately. Although the supernatural element could have presented a problem, Larsson manages to weave it into the story effortlessly, making it feel entirely appropriate and necessary.

Rebecka Martinsson, who has recovered from her last awful outing, has left her old firm and become District Prosecutor for Kiruna, the rural area where Martinsson grew up. In a period of transition in both her work and her personal life, Martinsson finds herself resisting the pleas of her lover to return to Stockholm. She knows she has choices to make, but she isn't ready to make them.

When Wilma's body is discovered, Wilma has the strength to move about and is no longer confined under the ice of the river in which she was found. In keeping with her character, Wilma has plans for solving her murder. This is never stated implicitly, but Wilma's behavior is obvious. She visits Martinsson in a dream and tells her that she didn't die in the river where she was found.

The next day when Martinsson is informed about the discovery of Wilma's body, she visits the pathologist and "wonders" if Wilma actually died in the river. A test of the water in the girl's lungs determines that Wilma died elsewhere and was moved to the river.

The characters are all three-dimensional and the novel has a psychological aspect that works easily in tandem with the supernatural element. Familiar characters from previous novels appear and gain substance, and Larsson's portrayal of one of the bad guys creates a surprisingly well-developed character.

Another engrossing thematic thread is one that appears over and over again in Swedish crime fiction--the Swedish collaboration with the Germans during the war. It appears in the work of Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbo, Steig Larsson, Asa Larsson, and others. Sweden's conflicted/ambiguous position during the war appears to be an unresolved and pervasive issue in Swedish society.

The novel provides some unexpected turns. Not surprising plot twists that leave you with your mouth open, but rather interesting developments that digress from a straight-line plot sequence. I did have a quibble about a segment of the resolution, but found it easy to overlook.

Larsson's debut work Sun Storm (original title, The Savage Altar) received the Swedish Crime Writer's Association's prize for best debut novel. The sequel, The Blood Spilt was chosen as Best Swedish Crime Novel of 2004. As with all Scandinavian crime fiction that I've read, there is a particular darkness to Larsson's work, but I enjoy them.

Originally, I had titled this post "Three Scandinavian Mysteries," but the review of Until Thy Wrath... became longer than intended (and still just skims the surface), so I'll review the others separately, too.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Revenger is a historical mystery set in the Elizabethan period. The novel casts John Shakespeare (Will's older brother) as an "intelligencer" for Sir Francis Walsingham, the great spymaster who gathered intelligence both at home and abroad that might help protect and strengthen Queen Elizabeth's reign. Walsingham's intelligencers provided information that helped prevent several domestic plots against the queen and also proved extremely useful in foreign diplomacy.

After the death of Walsingham, John Shakespeare retired from the game and now runs a school for boys. Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, recruits John to locate a young woman who may be Elizabeth Dare from the vanished Roanoke Colony. If it is Elizabeth, how did she survive the fate of the rest of the colonists and return to England?

Robert Cecil, who replaced Walsingham as Elizabeth's Secretary of State, then approaches John and requests that John keep a close eye on the Earl of Essex, who may have some dangerous plans of his own. Cecil and Essex have a personal rivalry, but Cecil has specific suspicions regarding Essex's current activities.

The Catholic/Protestant divisions have a great deal to do with the uncertainty of the times, and Clements addresses the danger of being a Catholic or even having Catholic sympathies during Elizabeth's reign. Clements also covers many other unpleasant elements of the period: the double-dealing and intrigue, the use of torture, the violence, the poverty, and the political machinations. While many of the situations are purely fiction, they give insight into Elizabethan political and social conventions.

Although the explanation about what happened to the Roanoke Colony and about the Earl of Essex's marriage plans are speculative fiction, the novel includes plenty of actual events.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Rose Garden is both a time travel novel and chic lit. As much as I love the idea of time travel, I find a lot of fantastical things --magic, fairies, and colonies in outer space-- much easier to accept. For some reason, I always quibble with time travel. Not when I read about the possibilities that quantum mechanics hypothesizes; I'm ready to entertain the real possibility, but I find fictional accounts impossible to reconcile.

I liked the setting and liked the characters (almost too many characters were very likable). If the Cornish smugglers felt a little gentlemanly for their trade, that was OK, too. And if so many romances worked out well, I can enjoy a few happy endings once in a while.

However, likable as some of the characters are, they felt like placeholders, and the romances were a bit conveniently coincidental. The time travel simply had too many discrepancies--or too few "logical" explanations.

Go ahead and make up a "logical" explanation for what causes the slippage, for the differences in the amount of time spent in past and present, for the arrival in a particular period or location--something more than the house being built on ley lines--and maybe I could suspend my disbelief.

I had no problem reading it, no place that I wanted to walk away without finishing, but neither was it a particularly memorable experience.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

A Restless Evil- Ann Granger - from Library Journal: "About 20 years ago, the woods at Lower Story were frequented by a still uncaught serial rapist. Now, shortly after a hiker discovers skeletal remains in the woods, a female churchwarden meets her untimely end in the local church: could the two events be connected? Supt. Alan Markby (Shades of Murder) thinks so, especially since he failed to find a perpetrator in the earlier case. With assistance from lover Meredith, he delves into the rumors and facts surrounding both cases, hoping for a break. This is a rock-solid British village procedural, complete with detailed setting, slightly degenerate denizens, and ongoing personal conflicts. "

Not bad. I enjoyed it enough to be interested in other Mitchell & Markby mysteries, especially since other reviewers indicate that this is not the best in the series. If A Restless Evil kept me interested and it wasn't the best, then maybe I'll enjoy others in the series, too.

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural. 300 pages. 2002.

Among the Departed - Vicki Delany. A constable Molly Smith novel. When bones are discovered in a wilderness hiking area, an old missing persons case comes back into play. As it turns out, the bones belong to the father of one Molly's childhood friends. Brian Nowak's disappearance fifteen years earlier has left the Nowak family weird and dysfunctional. Many had written Brian's disappearance off as an escape from his wife, but the bones prove otherwise.

Nicky Nowak returns home for the funeral, and the small town of Trafalgar, BC must look again at a disappearance that is now classified as a murder.

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural. 277 pages. 2011.

Woman with a Birthmark - Hakan Nesser. This is the second Inspector Van Veeteren mystery that I've read; only four of his 20 Van Veeteren novels have been translated into English. I read The Returnearlier this year and plan to read all English translations in the series.

Hmmm. Just discovered that there are several films based on Nesser's books. Will be adding to Netflix que.

If you enjoy Scandanavian crime fiction, do give this series a try. Woman with a Birthmark finds Van Veeteren and his crew confronted with a strange murder and no indication of a motive. Then another similar murder, and Van Veeteren, Reinhart, and the other detectives begin searching for any connection between the two men. And then another murder....

Brainrush - Richard Bard - a 99 cent Kindle read. Product description: "When terminally ill combat pilot Jake Bronson emerges from an MRI with extraordinary cognitive powers, everyone wants a piece of his talent--including Battista, one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. To save his love and her autistic child, Jake is thrust into a deadly chase that leads from the canals of Venice through Monte Carlo and finally to an ancient cavern in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan--where Jake discovers that his newfound talents carry a hidden price that threatens the entire human race.An original weave of current events bound by colorful locations and cutting-edge technology, Bard's novel is a must-read for fans of Michael Crichton, James Rollins, Clive Cussler, and Brad Thor. A dynamic mix of fast-paced action and thought provoking soul, this book challenges the reader to keep pace with every sharp turn and shocking twist. Acclaimed by fans of action, sci-fi, and political thrillers alike, Brainrush is one of the most innovative and entertaining books of the year."

Started out fine, but quickly went downhill. It has gotten great reviews and was OK for the price (almost free), but the characters had no depth and were sterotypical, the plot was too fantastic and too wide-ranging--from newly discovered brain capabilities to international terrorists to love story. Oh, yeah, a deeply moving love story based on a few hours acquaintance. And by the way, the product review mentions the love interest's autistic child, but she has no children. There are autistic children being experimented on, however, to turn them into terrorists. blah.

A Dozen Deadly Roses -- Kathy Bennett. Another 99 cent Kindle. Oh, when will I learn! Another superficial and silly disappointment. Product Description: "Los Angeles Police Officer Jade Donovan is being hunted. There’s the lieutenant who’s out to get her, the psycho who’s stalking her and leaving dead roses at her door, but most frightening of all, she’s been assigned to partner with her son’s father, Mac Stryker. Mac doesn’t know he’s Donnie’s dad, and Jade will stop at nothing to prevent him from finding out and possibly taking away her son. She will protect and defend him at all costs."

Although, once again, the majority of the reviews are positive, read the 2 star reviews to get a better idea of content.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

The Tin Ticket is an enthralling examination of the lives of women convicts who were sentenced to deportation to Van Dieman's Land (modern Tasmania) and who, along with the many male convicts, became part of the founding generations of Australia.

The book focuses on four women convicted of minor crimes and sentenced first to the horrors of Newgate prison (Ludlow Tetter's young daughter accompanied her to prison and to Van Dieman's Land), then to the four month sea journey in disgusting conditions, to arrive in Van Dieman's land and be incarcerated in the House of Corrections where they endured hard labor and shocking abuses.

The treatment of the poor in general and poor women and children in particular, the ways in which they were exploited and mistreated may come as a surprise even to Australians who are well aware of the convict past that helped populate the land. What passed for justice in the UK was often a way to remove the poor from their doorstep and deposit them where slave labor was needed. "Under the Transportation Act of 1718, 162,000 women, men and children were exiled to Australia from 1788 to 1868." At least 25,000 exiles were women.

The sentences were generally for seven years. Seven years of hard labour, mistreatment, sexual abuse, separation from their children, and more, for crimes of petty theft or forgery. Stealing a loaf of bread to feed one's children could easily mean not only imprisonment, but exile.

My only complaint is the way the author tries to "novelize" certain segments, but her research is thorough and well-documented, the book is informative and fascinating, and the ultimate triumph that many of these women achieved is amazing given the circumstances.

The following video shows some interviews with descendants of some of the women.

This book is another book that I read during October/November and am just now getting around to reviewing.

The Tin Ticket was an ARC from Jocelyn Kelley of Kelley and Hall. Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book.

Friday, December 16, 2011

The Affair is the latest in Child's Jack Reacher series. I read this back in October or November, and as anyone who reads this blog knows, Jack Reacher is one of my favorite characters. Lee Child writes great action-packed adventure and never fails to keep me wanting more Jack Reacher.

The Affair flashes back to Reacher's days as an elite MP and gives insight into the reasons Reacher leaves the military and begins his Paladin-like career as a wanderer. Sent undercover to find out who murdered a young woman and to do damage control if necessary, Reacher ends up in a small Mississippi town near an army base. Looking into the current murder, he discovers that it wasn't actually the first by this killer (how the authorities fail to connect murders of young women in a fairly short period of time in a small town seems a leetle bit incompetent, but there you go). Yes, there are certainly elements that recur from book to book and no, the plots aren't always plausible, and yet Lee Child continues to captivate his audience.

This was not my favorite by any means, but it was still a page-turner.

Friday, December 09, 2011

Veil of Lies is a medieval mystery set in the same period as Cassandra Clark's Sister Hildegard series (The Red Velvet Turnshoe, Hangman Blind, The Law of Angels). In 1383, Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of rank, lands, and possessions after being implicated in a plot against Richard II. His mentor, John of Gaunt, managed to save his life, but for political reasons abandons Guest to his fate.

Guest has established himself as a man who finds things and has earned the title "The Tracker," but his skills just barely keep him in food and lodging. In this debut novel, Guest has been hired by a wealthy merchant, but before he could report back, the merchant is found murdered in a locked room.

For various reasons, Guest pursues this new conundrum and finds puzzle after puzzle to pursue. Crispin Guest is full of flaws and is having serious difficulties connecting with individuals who are so far below his previous rank. His previous friends (including John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, and Geoffrey Chaucer) are no longer available to him because of his connection to the treasonous plot against the king. Associating with them would put them in danger.

Chaucer is actually a mere mention, but I have hopes that his character will become more important in the next two novels in this series.

I enjoyed the mystery, and even if I have some criticisms, I look forward to the next one in the series.

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

I love all kinds of mysteries, and this challenge will be a great excuse to indulge myself. Not that I wouldn't be reading mysteries anyway, but it sounds better if there is a reading challenge to give it gravitas.

from Booklist: When Olivia Keene arrives home to find her father strangling her mother, she picks up the nearest blunt object and bashes him on the head. Fearing that she will be charged with murder, Olivia, with her mother’s help, flees. While en route to a potential position with an old friend of her mother’s, Olivia finds herself caught up in a series of dangerous adventures culminating in her arrival at Brightwell Court, where she accidentally eavesdrops on a conversation between Lord Edward Stanton Bradley and his father, the Earl. Realizing that the information the now speechless Olivia unknowingly possesses could ruin him, Edward insists that she accept a position in his family’s nursery, never expecting that the silent new governess might be his one hope of salvation. Klassen expertly infuses her Regency-set inspirational tale with a gothic atmosphere, resulting in a sweetly intriguing romance worthy of Victoria Holt. --John Charles

My opinon: :) I have to say that I enjoyed this romance. It was a fun read.

from Publisher's Weekly: Set in England in 1865, Finch's impressive debut introduces an appealing gentleman sleuth, Charles Lenox. When Lady Jane Grey's former servant, Prue Smith, dies in an apparent suicide-by-poisoning, Lady Jane asks Lenox, her closest friend, to investigate. The attractive young maid had been working in the London house of George Barnard, the current director of the Royal Mint. Lenox quickly determines that Smith's death was a homicide, but both Barnard and Scotland Yard resist that conclusion, forcing him to work discreetly. Aided by his Bunter-like butler and friend, Graham, the detective soon identifies a main suspect, only to have that theory shattered by that man's murder. Finch laces his writing with some Wodehousian touches and devises a solution intricate enough to fool most readers. Lovers of quality historical whodunits will hope this is the first in a series. (June)

My opinion: Yep! I liked this one, too. I will look for more in this series. Light, but entertaining.

Amazon description: Introducing Isabel Dalhousie the heroine of the latest bestselling series from the author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Isabel, the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and an occasional detective, has been accused of getting involved in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. In this first installment, Isabel is attending a concert in the Usher Hall when she witnesses a man fall from the upper balcony. Isabel can’t help wondering whether it was the result of mischance or mischief. Against the best advice of her no-nonsense housekeeper Grace, her bassoon playing friend Jamie, and even her romantically challenged niece Cat, she is morally bound to solve this case. Complete with wonderful Edinburgh atmosphere and characters straight out of a Robert Burns poem, The Sunday Philosophy Club is a delightful treat from one of our most beloved authors.

My opinion: I did NOT find it a delightful treat. I found it annoying and am surprised it didn't go into the DNF file, but I hung in there until the bitter end.

Amazon description: Cited as one of the top ten crime novels of 2006 (Kirkus Reviews),No Traceis the finest novel yet by one of best crime novelists of our time.

In a London neighborhood known for its artists and bohemian style, six year old Tracey Rudd is abducted from her home without any warning, or sign of violence. She is the third child abucted under similar circumstances in recent weeks. But this case is different. She is the daughter of notorious contemporary artist Gabriel Rudd, best known for the grotesque "Dead Puppies," a work centered around his wife's suicide five years earlier. While Rudd exploits Tracey's abduction as an inspiration for a major new work in his upcoming exhibit, D.C.I. David Brock and Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla hunt for the missing girls' kidnapper, who is suspiciously connected to the eccentric community of artists, dealers, and collectors in the neighborhood.

My opinion: Some very tense moments in this one. I'll be giving another one in the series a try.

In Fairstein's exciting 13th novel to feature New York ADA Alexandra Cooper (after Hell Gate), a middle of the night call brings Alex and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace to Harlem, where the decapitated body of a young woman has been burning on the steps of the Mount Neboh Baptist Church, originally a synagogue until the neighborhood changed. Initially, the authorities suspect a hate crime until another dead woman turns up at a cathedral in Little Italy a few days later. A religious motive emerges, especially since both victims were considered "outcasts" because of their uncompromising demands about the role of women in organized religion. Meanwhile, Alex is prosecuting a defrocked Catholic priest accused of molesting boys, a high-profile trial that a politically connected bishop wants stopped. Fairstein excels at describing New York's complicated religious history as well as the vagaries of the city's legal and religious politics. 12-city author tour.

My opinion: I usually enjoy Fairstein's novels and this one was no exception. I always like the historical information about New York that she includes.

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OK, I'm making headway on reviews. Trying to catch up on some blog reading, too.

Saturday, December 03, 2011

For the last month, I've done a lot less reading of fiction because I've been busy with the following books and with dyeing fabric, embroidering, and doll-making.

I've still got several fiction books to review, but I'm grouping all of these non-fiction books together as they easily fit into one broad category. Many of them I read in August and September.

Sew Wild - Alisa Burke - Various techniques of painting, stamping, stenciling, and other surface design techniques for fabric. Not exactly my style and nothing really new, but informative, and I can adapt some of the techniques for some projects.

Create with Transfer Artist Paper - Lesley Riley - I still haven't tried this, but am eager to. I have some of Riley's transfer paper and plan to use it in some of my projects, but have been too busy with the eco dyeing and eco printing.

Stitch Alchemy - Kelly Perkins - More surface design techniques. As with the previous two, I've read them and intend to use them, but haven't yet.

Plaster Studio - Stephanie Lee, Judy Wise - Using plaster in mixed media projects. I really like this book, and it will be useful when I get around to actually trying the techniques.

Hand Dyeing Yarn & Fleece - Gail Callahan - a good dyeing reference, although right now I'm interesting in eco dyeing, rather than synthetic dyes.

The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing - J.N. Niles - haven't actually finished this one, but the dyes in this one call for some mordants that are toxic, and I don't want to fool with disposal. Some dye recipes might be useful, though, if I use other mordants.

And My Favorites:

**Eco Colour - India Flint - I've had this since the summer, have read it twice all the way through, and consult it frequently. India Flint is an inspiring resource for eco dyeing and printing.